


see how they run

by nyxxstay



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Animal Death, Character Death, Creepy, Cult references, Fear, Forests, Horror, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Mild Gore, Murder, Panic Attacks, Psychological Horror, SKZ Spookfest 2020, Survival Horror, chan is mentioned lol, felix is there, i've watched way too many horror movies can u tell, im a horror enthusiast and i don't pull my punches, look this is not lighthearted, midnight drives, minho and jisung i am so sorry, minsung - Freeform, sorry felix stans you aren't going to be happy with me, they said horror so i give you horror, why do i always hurt them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:13:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27042538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyxxstay/pseuds/nyxxstay
Summary: It was a normal night for Minho and his boyfriend Jisung. They were just enjoying their monthly tradition of a midnight drive like they had so many times before.But this time was different.This time, a strange car began following them. A strange car that was identical to Minho's.A strange car with a freckled and injured boy tied up in the trunk.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54
Collections: Stray Kids SpookFest





	see how they run

**Author's Note:**

> Please check the tags of this work before reading! This story will contain animal death, panic attacks, major character death, mild gore, and psychological horror. Please read with caution.
> 
> This is merely a work of fiction. I do not wish any of these events to ever happen to anyone, especially our boys. I was given a prompt for Spookfest, and this is where my imagination took me! I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Happy October <3

“Min~” the younger brunette whined with a playful smile, shaking his boyfriend’s hand in his over the center console.

“What~” Minho mimicked Jisung’s tone of voice, smiling as he glanced at the boy beside him.

Jisung responded by leaning over to the driver’s side of the little car, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek with a soft kiss and a small giggle. “I love you,” he hummed.

Minho shook his head with a smile. “You are so cheesy.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” Jisung pouted.

The elder squeezed his boyfriend’s hand gently. “Yes, yes, I do. I love you too, Sungie.”

Satisfied with Minho’s affirmations, Jisung leaned back in the passenger seat of the car and smiled as he watched the beautiful scenery pass by. The clock on the dash ticked midnight, the moon high in the sky and illuminating the silhouettes of the tall forest surrounding the secluded road they drove down, a picturesque scene that made the younger sigh in content. He loved nights like these, nights where he and Minho would take a midnight drive, no music or distractions, just them, driving alone with each other and the stars for company. It had been an accidental date when they were first dating nearly three years ago, but it soon became a tradition that once a month, they would make time in their lives for this special night. Somehow, these simple nights, filled with love, laughs, and memories, became a staple in their lives together that brought them closer every time they continued it.

Three years for some people is a long time, but it didn’t feel that way for Minho and Jisung. Though in some aspects, it felt like they had been together their whole lives, but overall, their three years together had flown by in what felt like seconds. Minho could still clearly remember the day he met Jisung for the first time, the younger being on his first day of work at a local restaurant and serving Minho and his friend Chan’s table. Chan had known the younger man, introduced the two, and after their brief conversations and flirty smiles and glances throughout the evening, both were practically begging Chan for the chance to see the other again. Perhaps Minho got Chan to share Jisung’s work schedule with him so he could go to the restaurant just to see the fluffy cheeked 19 year old, and maybe Jisung slipped his number to the big eyed 21 year old on a receipt. Neither would admit that they were both as whipped as their friends knew them to be, but in a few short months, the two were practically inseparable, and completely in love.

A comfortable silence settled over the two as Minho drove, headlights illuminating the lonesome road ahead of them, stars sparkling like glitter above them. Minho’s free hand that wasn’t holding his boyfriend’s gripped the steering wheel, the silver ring that Jisung had gifted him some months prior glinting as his fingers drummed against it. A yellow light glared in the rearview mirror, and Minho squinted as he saw another car approaching from behind, not fast enough to overtake them, but at a steady enough speed for the lights to start to be annoying to Minho’s eyes.

Minho attempted to ignore the car, but after several miles of the bright lights nearly blinding him from the reflection in his mirrors, Minho sighed and decided to turn off the main road.

“Everything okay?” Jisung asked as his boyfriend steered the car onto an unfamiliar route.

“Yeah,” the older nodded, “that car’s headlights were just getting annoying.”

Jisung nodded in understanding, looking behind them, then frowning as the car turned down the road they were now on. “Well, looks like they’re taking the same route.”

Minho sighed in annoyance, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel as he squinted through the blinding lights and searched for another road to turn off on. The car continued to keep a distance, but never turned off into any of the driveways to the residences they passed, and Minho was getting tired. After several more miles, another road approached, and Minho turned once again, praying that the annoyance would finally leave.

But as the yellow lights once again came into view behind them, a sense of anxiety began to bubble in the elder’s stomach. Something felt off.

“Is that car  _ still  _ behind us?” Jisung asked in exasperation. Minho nodded silently, eyes continually flitting to the rearview mirror to keep an eye on the vehicle. “Ugh, can they politely fuck off?”

Thankfully, another road came into view a lot sooner than the previous turns, and Minho turned the vehicle a third time, carefully watching the rearview mirror with baited breath and praying the car finally passed their street.

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Minho breathed. “I think we’re being followed.” The car had once again turned down the road they had taken, and that anxiety Minho had felt earlier was now gripping him tenfold.

“What?” Jisung stared with wide eyes at his boyfriend. “You think that car is following us?”

Minho nodded. “I’ve turned right three times, and they’ve followed us down every turn. They’re going the same speed as us, keeping the same distance, never getting closer than they are now. It looks awfully suspicious, and I don’t like it.”

Minho felt Jisung tighten his grip on his hand, beginning to stutter slightly as he spoke. “I-it could just be an accident. Maybe they missed their original turn and they’re going somewhere here on this road.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” the older brunette nodded. “I’m going to turn right up here on the main road again. We’ll have gone in a complete circle, so if that car turns right with us, then we’ll know for sure they’re following us.”

The two sat in silence, nervousness creating tension in the air between them as they waited the few miles to arrive at the main road once again. When they finally reached it, Minho held his breath as he turned once more, hoping that he was wrong and that the car would just continue on their way, no longer tailing them.

“ _ Min _ ,” Jisung whimpered as he watched the car through the back window turning right onto the main road, following them. He squeezed his boyfriend’s hand.

“I know, babe, I know. I see it.” Minho glared through the mirror at the two headlights that were still behind them.

“I’m scared. W-we should just go home.”

Minho shook his head. “We can’t let them follow us to our home. Who knows what they’ll do if they learn where we live.”

Jisung worried his lip between his teeth, dark hair now ruffled and messy from running his free hand through it. “Then w-what do we do?”

Minho thought, mind running through numerous possibilities and scenarios. They didn’t know what the stranger’s intentions were, why they were following them or what they’d do, but seeing the fear in his small boyfriend’s eyes made the older angry. This was supposed to be their night alone, their tradition to enjoy each other’s company and be happy together, and instead some asshole was tailing them, and Jisung had Minho’s hand in a death grip as he shook in anxiety and fear. Minho wouldn’t allow their night to be ruined like this.

Minho began to slow the car, turning onto the grass alongside the road.

“What are you doing?” Jisung breathed, eyes still wide and looking to the older.

“I’m gonna confront the asshole.”

“Are you crazy?!” Jisung practically shrieked. “We have no idea what kind of person they are! What if they’re a murderer or something?”

Minho chuckled lightly. “Did you forget I’m trained in multiple fighting styles? I won’t let them hurt us.” He brought Jisung’s hand, intertwined with his own, to his lips. “I promise.”

Jisung nodded hesitantly as their vehicle rolled to a stop, and sure enough, the tailing car also slowed, pulling over several meters behind them. Minho gazed at them through the rearview mirror, perplexed.

“The hell?” Minho murmured, turning around fully to look out the back window.

“What is it?” Jisung inquired as he mimicked his boyfriend, also looking out the back window.

“Where is the driver?”

The car behind them was empty, not a soul to be seen in the cab, even as it was still pulling to a stop on the grass behind them. But cars don't just drive themselves, Minho knew, so the driver had to be in there, he was sure, they just must’ve been ducking down, even though Minho couldn’t figure out how the hell they would be able to drive without seeing anything. He sighed, unlocking his door.

“Min-” Jisung squeezed his boyfriend’s hand, bringing his soft brown eyes to meet Minho’s, pleading. “I have a really bad feeling about this. Let’s just go, okay? Please, we should just leave.”

Minho squeezed his boyfriend’s hand gently. “It’ll be okay, babe. I’m just going to tell them off for following us, then we’ll go home.”

Jisung nodded reluctantly, releasing Minho’s hand as the older opened the car door, stepping out into the brisk midnight air.

Minho sighed as he closed the door behind him, the damp grass squishing beneath his feet as he began to walk towards the car, but despite his confidence to Jisung, he couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved by the little grey car. In fact, as he approached it further, he couldn’t help but notice some startling similarities between it and his own car; the color, the make and model, even the license plate border was all exactly the same. Minho approached the driver window, body stiff with anticipation, awaiting who he would find to be the strange stalker.

Only to find the car completely empty.

“The fuck-” he mumbled to himself, peering through the windows, and seeing not a single sign of life. No one hiding in the back seat, or down on the floorboards. The vehicle was vacant, despite still running with the keys in the ignition. Minho frowned.

“Everything okay?”

Minho nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice, so focused on trying to figure out how the driver had gotten out of the car without him seeing it that he didn’t notice Jisung exit the car and follow him over.

“There’s no driver,” Minho responded, still peering inside.

Jisung frowned, coming to stand next to the taller boy and peering in the car with him. “They must’ve just gotten out when we weren’t looking.”

“But when weren’t we looking?”

Jisung bit the inside of his cheek. “I don’t know, but it’s not like they just vanished into thin air, right?”

Minho sighed, nodding. “Yeah, but this still doesn’t seem… right. Their car is identical to mine, too.”

Jisung’s eyes widened slightly as he now noticed the same similarities Minho had, and others. “Minho… they even have the charm I made for you to hang from the mirror.”

It was Minho’s turn to widen his eyes, noticing the cute little acrylic angel dangling from the strange car’s mirror, one that looked exactly like the one Jisung had made for him as a gift for their anniversary. He swallowed thickly, now watching the car with caution, the unease from before becoming stronger, making the hair on his neck stand and fingers twitch with anxiety. He didn’t like this, not at all.

Jisung noticed the way Minho’s eyes darkened when he saw the charm, recognizing the way his shoulders stiffened and jaw clenched, and the younger reached out, gently lacing his finger’s with Minho’s. “Let’s just go, baby.”

Minho glanced up at the brunette, eyes softening when he saw the pleading gaze of his beautiful boyfriend, and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

It was only one step, the slightest movement away from the strange doppelganger car, when a loud thump could be heard from behind the couple. The two jumped, whirling around to face the car again, hearts racing and color drained from their faces.

_ Thump! Thump! _

It came again, and Minho could feel Jisung’s grip tightening in his hold once more, a sure sign that Jisung was afraid, so Minho steeled his nerves, stepping towards the noise in an attempt to be strong for his boyfriend.

Just as Minho moved closer, approaching the trunk of the car, it seemed as if the whole world went silent. No insects of the night or the breeze in the forest trees, only the shrill sound of a muffled scream, originating from the same place as the thumping. Minho felt his breath catch in his throat, ice coursing through his veins, realizing that this creepy car seemed to have a much darker secret hidden inside of it.

The two shared an apprehensive look as Minho reached out to the trunk, both equally afraid of what they might find. Jisung seemed to shift behind Minho, cowering in fear ever so slightly as Minho gripped the handle, and without wasting any time, lifted it open.

Minho and Jisung found themselves staring at a bloody, beaten boy, bound at the wrists and ankles by rope. His eyes were wide, tear streaks leaving trails of clean skin through the many blood stains and matted blonde hair, revealing a dusting of freckles on his cheeks. Minho’s eyes were drawn to bloody threads, harshly sewn into the boy’s lips, silencing him from calling for help, and Minho couldn’t help but feel a harsh twist in his gut, realizing he and his boyfriend had stumbled upon something potentially very dangerous.

“Oh my god,” Jisung was the first to speak, his overwhelmingly caring character coming out as he reached out to the stranger, helping to maneuver his legs so they could get him into a sitting position rather than staying cramped in the tiny trunk. Minho followed suit, gently asking the boy to remain calm and assuring him they were here to help as he helped lift the boy up, eliciting a pained whine from him.

“He’s really hurt,” Jisung remarked, noting how tattered his probably once grey shirt was, revealing many worrisome injuries marring his skin, soaking the shirt with blood.

“Let’s work on getting him untied,” Minho responded, “then we’ll get him in the car and you can patch him up in the back while we take him to a hospital.”

Jisung nodded, immediately crouching to the boy’s feet, nimble fingers beginning to undo the rough ropes that had rubbed sores into his skin. “We have a little emergency knife in the glove box, right? We can use it to cut the threads on his mouth.”

Minho opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a thunderous scream of pain, tearing through the night like a rock through glass, making his heart stop in fear.

_ “FELIX!” _

Still startled by the chilling scream, Minho and Jisung didn’t notice the boy’s eyes go wide, staring off into the forest, looking for the source. Without warning, the boy let loose a muffled scream, as though he were trying to yell a name in response, and took off running, kicking the loose ropes free from his feet and wrists still bound.

“Wha- wait!” Minho called after him, and without thinking both took off into the dark treeline after him, worried for the safety of the severely injured stranger.

The forest was thicker than Minho expected, bushes and branches creating hazards as Minho and Jisung chased the boy’s shadow. The moon was only barely visible in spots through the canopy, leaving their eyes struggling to adjust to the change in lighting as they tripped over rocks and felled trees. Each time one stumbled, the other would help pull them up, and they would continue the chase, calling after the freckled boy. Minho knew that neither of them would be able to live with themselves if they left someone clearly in need of their help out in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night. They at least had to try to find him, especially since there was no service this far out so they couldn’t call for help until they reached the city again.

But after only a few minutes of chase, the lovers were forced to come to a halt in their pursuit, having lost sight of the boy and completely out of breath.

“With how hurt he is, how is he so fast?” Minho breathed, hands on his knees as he tried to force more oxygen into his lungs.

“I- I have no idea,” Jisung admitted, also breathing heavily and beginning to sweat in his oversized yellow hoodie.

Minho glanced up at the moon, eyebrows drawn together in thought. “I think we should go back to the car.”

“What?!” Jisung exclaimed, shock shown in his face as he looked to the taller.

“We don’t know where he went, and we don’t want to get lost while searching for him.”

“But he’s hurt! He could bleed to death out here, and no one would know any better!” A deep, worried frown began to draw the corners of Jisung’s lips downward. 

Minho gripped his boyfriend’s hand gently, rubbing his thumb over Jisung’s knuckles comfortingly. “And if we go missing we’d be just as screwed. If we go back to the city we can get help.”

“But what about the scream?” Jisung pleaded. “It sounds like someone else might be hurt too. We should at least try to look a little bit longer, because I don’t think that poor guy will last out here much longer. For all we know, he could be really close. Please, Min, let’s just look a little farther.”

Minho hated seeing his boyfriend sad, and he definitely hated knowing that his actions were the cause. He knew how empathetic Jisung was, and if their leaving resulted in the stranger dying, Jisung would tear himself apart over it, and Minho couldn’t have that. He sighed.

“Fine, we’ll go a little bit farther, but if we don’t find him, we need to leave and call authorities instead, okay?”

Jisung nodded, relief filling his chocolate brown eyes as he squeezed Minho’s hand as a signal of thanks.

The two begin the trek through the shrubbery once more, hand in hand with Jisung trailing just slightly behind Minho. It was dark, and the further they walked, eyes scanning their surroundings for any sign of the boy or the person who had screamed, Minho couldn’t help but feel like the blackness was beginning to become suffocating, closing in on them with a chilling sense of dread, reaching out like tendrils of a poison, creeping into their systems until it consumed them. Minho tried to ignore it, knowing there wasn’t reasonably any reason to be afraid, but when his mind flitted to the many other events of the night - the driverless car that followed them, the injured and bound boy, the painful scream from the forest - Minho began to think that maybe his fear wasn’t entirely unfounded.

After a short while, Minho is stopped by Jisung coming to an abrupt halt, pulling back on his hand as the younger’s head whipped to the right, as though looking for something, eyes wide and skin pale with fear.

“Ji?’ Minho questioned. “Baby, what's wrong?”

“You-you didn’t… hear the branch snap?” Jisung stuttered, looking up at Minho with a terrified gaze.

Minho frowned. “No, I didn’t hear anything.”

Jisung frowned, glancing to his right one more time. “Maybe I just imagined it.”

Minho nodded thoughtfully, squeezing Jisung’s hand again as he began to lead him once more. They didn’t get much farther before Jisung yelped, darting into Minho’s side and latching onto his arm with a vice grip. Minho instinctively wrapped a protective arm around his boyfriend.

“I heard it again,” Jisung whimpered. “And th-there was a shadow.”

“A shadow?”

Jisung nodded, burying his face into Minho’s shoulder. “It looked like it was wearing a hood.”

Minho glanced around, trying to spot a glimpse of the supposed hooded figure his boyfriend had seen, but still no sign of anyone. Minho bit the inside of his cheek, brows drawn together.

“Baby, I think your mind is playing tricks on you. You’re just imagining it, okay?” Minho used his free hand to guide Jisung by the chin to look up at him, meeting the smaller’s terrified gaze. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, just stay close to me. I’ll protect you.”

Minho’s heart melted at the adoration Jisung looked up at him with, and he couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly, hugging Jisung even closer into his side as the two began to walk once more.

He saw how Jisung’s gaze darted around with wide eyes, and the way Jisung’s grip on his shirt would tense, as though he were watching things that Minho simply couldn’t see, but Jisung stayed strong, latching onto Minho as his anchor and doing his best to breathe and ignore the tricks his mind was using to scare him. Minho gently traced patterns into Jisung’s side as he guided them through the brush, using the dim moonlight to guide them in their search for the injured boy.

Despite being in the middle of the forest, the night was strangely quiet, no sounds other than the rustle of their movements through leaves and grass. No crickets chirping, frogs croaking, or even the hoot of an owl. The silence was eerie, settling over the two like a looming blanket, and Minho couldn’t help the way it made the hair on his neck stand on end.

Minho began to wonder what had happened to that boy they were following, where he was from, how he’d gotten kidnapped, why he’d taken off after that voice. Did he maybe recognize the scream? It had seemed to be yelling a name, perhaps his, and he had seemed scared. The voice could’ve been a friend, or perhaps a partner, or family member.

But where had he gone? Sure the boy was fast, but no one had stamina to keep running like that for too long. And with how quiet it was, they should’ve at least been able to hear him running, or walking even. Had he perhaps fallen? His hands were still tied so maybe he hadn’t been able to catch his fall, and ended up hitting his head and knocking himself out. There were so many potential ways the poor stranger could’ve met an unfortunate demise in the dark forest.

Minho was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t notice when something cold and wet dripped onto his forehead. He froze, hand reaching up to touch the wet spot, seeing a dark liquid staining his skin.

Blood.

Nothing quite compared to the complete shock and disgust that coursed through his body when he glanced up to see what was probably once a poor deer, strung from the tree branches by its own intestines, a bleeding stump where its head once would’ve been. The body was carved harshly, slashes cutting through its flesh haphazardly while oozing the crimson red blood onto the forest floor, the irony stench filling the air around them. Jisung nearly screamed at the sight.

“What the fuck?!” Jisung stumbled backwards, tripping on a fallen branch and nearly tumbling to the ground before Minho caught him, holding his arms firmly to keep him steady. “Min, that- that’s an animal- that’s.. Why would someone-” He stopped his stuttering as his gaze drifted beyond the mutilated body, seeing many more like it littered through the trees in the moonlight. Minho saw them as well, making his stomach twist unpleasantly. “What is this…?”

Minho grabbed his boyfriend’s face gently, directing his gaze away from the ghastly sight before them. Jisung’s eyes were wide, and the older could tell that Jisung was at his limit. This was all too much. “Babe, we should head back to the car, okay? I don’t think we should be here.”

“H-how will we find our way back? We’re so deep in the forest now…”

Minho smiled reassuringly. “The moon was in front of us as we headed into the forest, so if we put it to our backs, we’ll be heading back towards the road. We didn’t walk for too long, so we aren’t too far away, I’m sure.”

Jisung nodded after a moment, giving a weak attempt at a smile. “Okay, Min.”

The two joined hands, their backs to the moon, turning away from the bloody carnage and heading back in the direction that they came. Jisung stayed close to his boyfriend, eyes downcast as he tried to erase the horrible image of mutilated animals from his mind. Minho kept a steady pace for them, not going too fast to wear them out at the late hour it was, but fast enough to put distance between them and what they had seen. They had been through enough tonight and he didn’t want to drag it out any longer. He needed to get Jisung home, where they were safe, where he could hold the smaller boy in his arms and know that nobody would ever be able to hurt him.

The woods were still eerily silent, no owl hoots, bats calling, or crickets chirping. The only sounds were their breaths, the night air just becoming cold enough to fog up as they exhaled, and their shoes crunching through the leaves and branches. It was unnerving, the shadows of the trees stretching towards them, moonlight setting their surroundings aglow with a pale, dim blue light.

But after some time, their settings began to change once more, and not in the way Minho had wanted.

“I… I thought we were headed back towards the car…” Jisung’s voice was barely a whisper.

The two found themselves surrounded by even more mutilated animals, blood soaking into the forest floor, parts and organs strung through the branches like twisted streamers from hell.

“We were supposed to go home, Min. Why are we still here?” Jisung’s voice was beginning to rise in pitch. “The moon is in front of us again. How did we end up deeper in the forest? Why are we here? I wanna go home!”

Minho stared at the carnage, voice lost, before he felt Jisung collapse next to him, hands in his hair as sobs began to choke him. Minho pulled him in his arms immediately, tucking the younger’s face into his shoulder as he shook.

“I’m scared, I’m so scared,” he sobbed, tears staining his boyfriend’s hoodie, clutching onto the fabric for dear life.

“I know, I know baby. It’s okay, it’ll all be okay.” He tightened his hold around Jisung’s small body, hoping to provide some comfort and reassurance. If he was being totally honest with himself, he was completely freaked out, and worried about how they would find their way out of the woods now that they had gotten themselves lost, but he had to keep a brave front for Jisung. Jisung needed Minho to be strong, and Minho would do anything, give absolutely anything if it meant protecting the boy he loved, making him smile, making him feel safe and secure. That was all he wanted. “Take deep breaths. You’re safe, I’ve got you.”

“A-are we gonna b-be okay-y?” The younger sniffled, pulling back from Minho’s shoulder to look up with bloodshot, watery eyes.

Minho leaned in, pressing their foreheads together gently. “We will be just fine, I-”

He was cut off by a thunderous, deep and guttural scream, so loud that it shook both boys to the bone, igniting in them a deep, primal fear. Animalistic or human, neither were sure, but they didn’t have time to ponder, hearts hammering in their chests as they both bolted upright, faces pale in fright as they took off, sprinting from the horrible sound that they knew would haunt their nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Minho held onto Jisung’s hand for dear life, tearing through the dark woods as fast as he could with Jisung right behind him. He didn’t know where they were going, or what they were going to do. All he knew was they had to get  _ away _ , away from whatever had made that scream, away from the animal bodies, away from the creeping shadows and the deafening silence of the night. He had to get them away.

But Minho was forced to stop dead in his tracks, Jisung running into his back with a small  _ oof  _ as the older stared with wide eyes, stomach twisting violently at the scene before him, and he couldn’t help the horrible feeling that there was nowhere safe for them now, that maybe they weren’t going to get out of this.

A man sized, wooden X stood before them, holding up the mutilated and clearly deceased body of the boy they had chased into the forest.

Jisung peeked over his boyfriend’s shoulder to figure out why they had stopped, but regretted it immediately as the sight twisted his stomach, causing him to rid his body of the dinner he’d had earlier in the evening. He could smell the stench of blood and death permeating the air around them, burning his nostrils and lungs, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to erase the stench of human guts from his memory. He felt tears stinging his eyes once more, recognizing the poor boy they had found in the trunk earlier. They had failed to find him, and now he was dead.

And he clearly hadn’t had a painless death, if the burns, lacerations, and gutting was any indication.

“He’s dead…” Minho whispered. “Someone killed him. I… I don’t understand what’s going on. How did this happen?”

Jisung was still on his knees, wiping his mouth of the vomit and grimacing at the aftertaste and burn in his throat. “We need to get away from here.”

Minho nodded, breath rattling in his chest. “We aren’t safe. We need to keep moving, find our way out of the woods or at least find some civilization.” He helped his boyfriend to his feet, taking one last glance at the poor boy they had failed to save, before leading them in a new direction.

But the scenery didn’t change. The young couple continue to find mutilated bodies, tied up and left to rot, littering the woods as they picked their way through the night. Both were at their limits, tears trailing down their cheeks as they focused on just trying to keep moving, fighting the exhaustion and fear with everything they had in them. Jisung became even more jumpy than before, but for the first time, Minho understood why, because he too was beginning to see shadows in the treeline, hear branches snap, whispered words. It felt like a rope had wound its way around his throat, slowly suffocating him, draining what little sanity he had left. He didn’t know what was real, what wasn’t. All he knew was that death and decay marred this forest, cursing it with something sinister and evil, and they were in serious danger.

The shadows seemed to begin closing in, and the two began to move faster, breathing heavy, but not loud enough to overtake the sound of a low chanting. Minho couldn’t tell what the voices were saying, perhaps speaking in tongues or some language he didn’t recognize, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care as he focused on not falling flat on his face in the dark shrubbery.

Then the scream came again, the same deep, terrifying scream that set every nerve in Minho’s body on edge, making him want to run for dear life. And that’s exactly what he did; gripping Jisung’s hand tightly, the two sprinted away from the shadows, from the scream, from the bodies, from everything that made them want to curl into a ball and disappear. They were desperate, petrified of what was to become of them, so they did the only thing they could, letting their legs carry them as far and fast as they could. Even when their sides cramped from exertion, even when their muscles felt like jelly beneath them, they kept running. They had to, they knew they had to.

Minho didn’t see the hooded figure closing in before it was already too late, running into him like a freight train, sending him tumbling to the side and into a tree. His head hit the trunk with a sickening thump, knocking him unconscious.

The only sound was that of Jisung, screaming desperately for his boyfriend, reaching out for him as the shadows began to drag him away from the love of his life.

_ “Minho!” _

  
  
  
  
  


Minho woke up disoriented, vision blurry and limbs cold from the brisk air. The moon was a bit lower in the sky, casting long shadows over the little clearing Minho found himself in. He groaned, raising a hand to his head and finding that he was, in fact, bleeding, but it didn’t seem to be severe. His head was splitting, probably from hitting the tree.

_ Jisung _ .

Minho choked on air, eyes wide and heart stopping as he realized his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. He stumbled to his feet. “Jisung?” he called into the forest, his voice echoing through the trees, but there was no response.

Minho thought he had been scared before, but nothing compared to the sheer terror that coursed through his veins, the panic threatening to stop his heart entirely. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t function, couldn’t  _ live  _ until he knew Jisung was safe by his side again. He could hear the blood pumping in his ears as he took off back in the direction they had come from, calling his boyfriend’s name in the desperate hope that he might be able to find him.

“Jisung?! Jisung where are you?”

Jisung wouldn’t have left his side unless someone had taken him. He didn’t care about the bodies of people and animals that he passed, or the hooded figures looming in the shadows. All that mattered was finding the love of his life, making sure that no one ever touched him again. He had to protect him, he’d promised he would, swore that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, and he’d be damned if he broke that promise.

He heard that low chanting again, and this time, instead of running from it, he ran towards it, certain that that would be where he’d find Jisung. He tore through the low branches and scrubs, paying no regard to the way they tore up his arms and legs, desperate to reach wherever these figures were coming from. His head was pounding, legs aching, lungs screaming, but he didn’t stop.

Until he came to a clearing, a wooden X stood in the center.

“Jisungie?” Minho’s eyes stung with tears. “Oh baby, what did they do to you?”

He rushed to the younger’s side, immediately fiddling with the rough ropes that cut into his boyfriend’s wrists, catching him as he collapsed into his hold. His body was heavy, cold and stiff.

Minho cradled him in his arms, a gentle hand holding his face. Jisung’s eyes were glossed over and vacant, staring into nothingness with his features frozen in an eternal state of agony. “You’re gonna be okay, Jisungie, you’ll be just fine. I’m gonna get us out of here, just like I promised.”

Blood coated Jisung’s body, making it difficult to distinguish what was skin, and what was a wound. Deep carvings dug into his flesh, in his arms, legs, chest, and neck, the crimson liquid staining Minho’s clothes. “I’m going to get us back to the city, and the doctors there, they’ll patch you up, okay? They’ll make you all better.” Minho caressed his boyfriend’s face lovingly, but there was no response.

The figures had begun to get closer again, but Minho couldn’t let them catch him. He needed to escape. Pulling Jisung’s body close to his chest, the older stood, taking off into the forest and away from the people who had tried to take his precious Jisungie away from him.

He kept running, running and running as far away as he could. His arms shielded Jisung’s body from branches and debris, tears streaking down his cheeks through the dirt and blood covering his face. Jisung’s body was pale, stiff, lifeless in his hold, but Minho didn’t notice. Jisung had to live, had to survive. He needed him, and he wouldn’t accept any other alternative. 

He could’ve ran for minutes or hours, he honestly didn’t know anymore. Time had morphed together into one mess of confusion and desperation, muddled with pleas for Jisung to stay with him, and prayers that he could find a way out.

By some miracle, his prayers were answered.

Minho collapsed to the ground at the edge of the main road, Jisung’s corpse still cradled protectively to his chest. On the horizon, the night sky had begun blending with hues of pinks and oranges, signalling the start of a new day. Exhaustion finally took over, the brunette’s vision fading in and out as he mumbled out to his boyfriend, “We made it, Jisungie, we did it. Everything’s going to be okay now.”

A smile graced Minho’s lips as what remained of his consciousness slipped away, not noticing the driverless car rolling to a stop in front of them.

_ End. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, even if it was a pretty rough ride :'(


End file.
